Questions to Encourage Exploration & Discussion

There are types of questions that incite student curiosity, exploration, discussion, and higher-level thinking. There are also types of questions that invite recall of information. Both types are valuable, but the first type tends to be underused.

This session focuses on two main types of questions—”broad” and “narrow” questions—also referred to in some education literature as “open-ended” and “closed-ended.” The emphasis is on thinking about the impacts of both kinds of questions on student thinking and behavior, and using this information to help decide how and when to best use them.

This session is adapted from the BEETLES session, Questioning Strategies.

Participation in this session is strongly encouraged (though not required) as a prerequisite for the future session, Aligning Questioning Strategies with Learning Goals.